Car seat or cushion



(No Modem H. S. HALE.

GAR SEAT 0R CUSHION.

No. 456T764. Patented July 21.8, 1891.

. fraz.

wfn n UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY S. HALE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.`

CAR SEAT OR CUSHION.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 456,764, dated July28, 1891.

Application filed June 5, 1891. Serial No. 395,225. (No model.)

To all whom zit may concern.'

Be it known that I, HENRY S. HALE, of the city and county ofPhiladelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented an Improvement inOar Seats or Cushions, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has reference to car seats or cushions; and it consists ofcertain improvements, which are fully set forth in the followingspecification and shown inthe accompanying drawings, which form a partthereof.

The object of my invention is to construct a car-seat which shall embodydurabilityand cheapness, combined with comfort to the sitting upon itand cleanliness,

My invention will be understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawings, l in which- Eigure l is a plan view of a seat or cushionembodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same onthe line Fig. is a cross-section of the same on line l 2. Fig. 4 is anenlarged view of a portion of Fig. 2, taken on line et 5. Fig. 5 is aperspective view of one end of the seat or cushion; and Fig. 6 is asectional plan view of a car-body, showing the usual arrangement of theseats.'

The seat is particularly adapted for streetcars in which the cushionsare made of considerable lengths and where two or more independentcushions are required for each of the longitudinal seats. i

A is the main frame, and is provided with the cross-bars B. on thebottom, the front and rear rails L, and the end rails O, the' latterbeing best shown in Fig. 3, and recessed or hollowed out at the middle,as at c, so as to give greater possible depression of the uppercovering. Arranged upon the cross-bars B is a series of spiral springsD, and upon these vspiral springs is secured a metallic strip E,preferably of steel and of great flexibility. Arranged above the metalstrip E and parallel with the transverse or cross bars B are webbing orfabric strips c, which are also secured to the spiral springs bythe samerivets d which hold the springs to the metallic strips. There is aseries of metallic strips arranged transversely across the length of theseat, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. l and as shown in Fig. 2,each of which strips is sustained by th ree central springs, as shown inFig. 3, the middle spring holding` the strip at a higher elevation thanthe two side springs. The webbing or fabric strips are secured at theirends to the side rails L by means of tacks. Stretched above thisspring-support is a covering G, composed of alayer of fabric, upon whichglued or otherwise secured a series of thin longitudinal wooden strips,and this material is stretched over the side rails L and secured at M bynails or otherwise. The ends of the covering are free to be depressed toa greater extent than the level of the upper edges of the side rails L,owing to the end of the rails O heilig recessed or hollowed out, as atc.To protect the interior from dust, and also to impart a finish to theseat as well as give more comfort, the free ends of the covering G aresecured to a fabric H by means of glue and are further held in place byan inner flexible strip I and rivets or screws J. The lower end of thistextile covering H is brought down over the end of the rail O andsecured to it at the bottom, as at K, by tacks or otherwise. By thismeans a finish is given to the seat, and it is securely sealed againstthe entrance of dust and dirt. When the seats are arranged, as indicatedin Fig. G, I have the juncture O between the two seat-cushions N N orbetween t-he three seat-cushions N P N perfectly flexible and just ascomfortable to sit upon as the central portion of the cushion itself.

Referring to Fig. G, the small cushion P is employed to cover the spacewhich in winter time is occupied by a stove. (Shown in dotted lines.)

It is evident that the details of construction might be more or lessmodified Without departing from the principles of the invention.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure b v Letters Patent, is-

l. In a seat-cushion, the combination of a.

main frame having longitudinal side rails L and an end rail O, made withits upper surface at the middle of the seat at a lower elevation thanthe upper edges of the side rails L, a flexible covering extendingbetween the two sides of the rails and formed of textile materialcovered with strips of Wood, and a spring-support between the saidcovering and the main frame.

IOC

2. In a seat-cushion, the Combination of a main frame havinglongitudinal side rails L and an end rail C, made with its upper surfaceat the middle of the seat at a lower elevation than the upper edges ofthe side rails L, a flexible eoverin g extending between the two siderails and formed of textile material covered with strips of Wood, aspringsupport between the said covering and the main frame, and aflexible covering of textile material between the free edges of the endsof the seat-covering and the end rail, Whereby the end of the cushion issealed against the entrance of dirt, &e.

3. In a seat-Cushion, the Combination of the main frame having the siderails L and the end rails C, having their upper surfaces depressed orrecessed, as at c, a series of metallic transverse plates E, sprin gsarranged between each of the plates and the main frame, a textile bandor web secured to each of the plates and having the ends united to theside rails, a covering of textile material formed with a surface of Woodarranged above the series of textile bands or Webs and secured at itsends to the main frame or side rails, and a textile covering at the endsof the seat-cushion uniting the free edges of the covering of textilematerial and Wood with the end rails.

In testimony of which invention I have hereunto set my hand.

HENRY S. HALE. Witnesses:

R. M. HUNTER, ERNEST HOWARD HUNTER.

